Streets were cordoned off by emergency responders after a water leak caused steam to cascade in the air a block away from Central Park Monday, authorities said.
Steam billowed high into the air above West 58th Street and Sixth Avenue after a water leak caused steam to erupt from the ground just before 10 a.m.
West 58th Street was closed to traffic between Sixth and Eighth avenues, authorities said.
"I just felt tons of steam coming out. It was intense because you just didn't know what was going to happen next," said witness Saira Malhotra. "All of a sudden you just couldn't see down the street."
A maintenance worker at a building nearby said he felt the structure shake around the time the smoke began to fill the air.
Photos from the scene show dozens of firefighters crowding around the otherwise busy street as steam pours from the ground and wafts up into the sky.
One video shows a wall of steam reaching up at least three stories.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection told NBC 4 New York that they plan to dig up the entire street to check on the infrastructure.
Local
No injuries were reported.
